One of the big differences between Florida and my native Pennsylvania, besides the hurricanes, is the fact that there's not as much "there" there down here. Which makes no sense, so let me put it another way.

Municipal fragmentation was a huge issue in Pennsylvania. According to Governing magazine, there 410 incorporated municipalities or towns in all of Florida. In Pennsylvania, there are 2,561.

In the three Treasure Coast counties, there are 12 incorporated towns or cities, plus the three county-wide school districts.

In my old stomping grounds of Lancaster County, Penn., there are 60 municipalities, 29 of which have their own police departments. And in the one county, there are 16 school districts.

As you might imagine, the duplication of services is incredibly wasteful, but people do like the idea of local control, and you can understand why. It's a very conservative idea, the notion that the government that governs best is the one that governs closest; that "self-government" doesn't mean aloof officials in some far-away land — it means you.

People in Hobe Sound and Indiantown have been discussing incorporation for years, even decades. But 2016 was the year the talk turned to action.

Groups in both towns held meetings and hired a consultant, who produced feasibility studies showing the respective towns could be successful on their own. They're drafting proposed charters, and they submitted requests to the state Legislature, which must pass bills permitting a vote on incorporation/independence in both communities.

If the Legislature signs off, those referendums could happen next year. If they pass, both towns could be up and running by early 2018.

I spoke with some of the folks backing incorporation in the two towns, to ask: Why, and why now? The answer in both cases was: It's time.

For too long, they say, their communities have been treated as the proverbial red-headed stepchildren. For example, earlier this year in Indiantown, a proposed biomass plant that would have burned wood for fuel, and promised to create hundreds of industrial and agricultural jobs, was chased away by county officials because it didn’t hew exactly to the county’s comprehensive plan.

Indiantown needed those jobs, said Scott Watson, owner of the Indiantown Marina. But Indiantown wasn’t asked for its opinion.

"We would have liked to have had an opportunity to have our say, as a town," Watson said.

Likewise, many in Hobe Sound were rankled by the commissioners’ decision to keep $2.8 million in community redevelopment funds that originally had been earmarked for upgrades in Hobe Sound. That's not "the reason" Hobe Sound is seeking incorporation, said Mike Ennis, who chairs the group backing the drive. It's just an illustration of how little say local residents have in what goes on in their own community.

People in Hobe Sound like the town the way it is, he said, but that doesn't mean they want to stop any and all development. Yet "we're always one county commissioner away from getting a very pro-growth or no-growth commission," Ennis said. It's always all or nothing.

Were the community able to govern itself, he said, Hobe Sound itself could decide how much development is appropriate rather than the county deciding what's appropriate for Hobe Sound.

Both Indiantown and Hobe Sound already have distinct identities. Many people think they're incorporated already.

"I have people who stop by my office to ask where city hall is," Watson said.

Martin County has no official position on the incorporation drives — at least, not yet.

"The county has been provided the reports and is currently reviewing and analyzing them," said Taryn Kryzda, county administrator. "Staff anticipates having an item to the board for discussion in December."

That discussion might center on taxes, because that would be the biggest upshot of independence in Hobe Sound and Indiantown: Property taxes now remitted to the county would instead be remitted to the new towns. So in one respect, the county would lose revenue, though activists in both towns have talked about contracting with the county to provide services like police. This far out, there's no telling whether the revenue gained from these contracts would offset the revenue lost via secession.

Indeed, Ennis said, taxes are one of the hot topics every time people meet in Hobe Sound to discuss incorporation. He said the feasibility study shows there would be no need for taxes to rise the first year. After that "they may have to go up, but we tell people: 'You could control it.'"

Added Watson: "I ask people, who do you trust more — the people in this room, or the people 20 miles away on the coast?"

Though it won't be worded that way, that's exactly the question people in both communities will be answering if these movements actually make it to the ballot next year.

I wouldn't bet against local control. Would you?

Gil Smart is a columnist for Treasure Coast Newspapers and a member of the Editorial Board. His columns reflect his opinion. Readers may reach him at gil.smart@tcpalm.com, by phone at 772-223-4741 or via Twitter at @TCPalmGilSmart.